Video: Rookie cop runs over fleeing Fla. suspect

The officer was fired for the incident, but he was not criminally charged

By Desiree Stennett
Orlando Sentinel

DeLand, Fla. — In the moments before his death, Marlon Brown was sprinting through a vegetable garden in a residential area and DeLand police with sirens blaring were not far behind.

As Brown neared a fence that enclosed a backyard, he was cornered. Two police officers stopped. But as shown in a video released by Brown's family on Wednesday, rookie Officer James Harris, third in line in the chase, kept going.

In the graphic video, Brown, 38, tripped then threw his hands in the air and turned to face police a moment before he was struck by the cruiser on May 8.

That video was enough to convince DeLand Police Chief William Ridgway that Harris should be fired immediately.

"On May 31st I was shown the video of the incident," Ridgway said in an email statement. "I terminated the probationary employment status of Officer Harris on that same day."

Last week, a grand jury found that Harris should not face criminal charges.